Advice for keeping DCat inside

[Absoluteunit]

Hi, I am hoping for some advice from experienced cat owners please?

We "inherited" DCat a couple of years ago. We were looking after him temporarily when his owner was going through some problems but in the end she wanted us to keep him. Love him to bits but the long and short of it is I'm not an experienced cat owner.

He's a gorgeous boy and very friendly. He loves to visit all the neignbours in our cul de sac for fuss and to chance his arm for some food!

I've just seen on the bbc news that we should try to keep him indoors now because of COVID 19. He's not going to like that especially now the sun is out so be can sunbathe outside all day!

Anyway, he used to use a litter tray when he first came to stay but when he started to go outside we stopped using it. If I put them out for him now do you think he will start to use it when he can't go outside or is there a way I can encourage him again?

Sorry if this is a stupid question! Thanks in advance!

[YetAnotherSpartacus]

Dear cat haters. This is the litter tray section. Please sod off

Totally agree. But in reality if I had a cat I'd take Madcatlady's approach.

There are some right sick fucks out there just looking for any excuse.

[MrsFogi]

Until the government decides to shoot any cats that are outside my cats will continue to be allowed to come and go as they please.

[madcatladyforever]

I didn't mention...the reason I'm keeping my cat in is because I've had threats, anonymous naturally like the cowards they are.
As she's so old I simply cannot risk her being kicked or otherwise harmed, she would not survive an assault at her age.
I take her out for a walk in the garden when I get home.
Oh yes and I reported it to the police too who took the threats very seriously. It is against the law to cause harm to an animal.

[madcatladyforever]

He will use the litter tray again, cat's are very clever.
I'm keeping my old girl in she's 18 now but still likes to go and scrounge off the neighbours.
She isn't happy about it at all but she'll have to lump it.
I keep explaining it to her at length but she is not impressed.
Don't worry he will find a sunny spot in the house and lie there for hours.
I'd order some toys for him. The catnip banana off Amazon is particularly popular with all the cats I know and maybe a few loo rolls on some string and a couple of treats during the day.

[Tonyaster]

You have come to a part of this forum specifically for people with cats to sling insults around? You truly are a little sunbeam

Erm, you started it by telling me to "sod off". There are no rules saying "only people who currently own cats" can post in the litter tray, and this is a topical issue where cats might be affecting people who don't currently own cats. Saying people are "anti-cats" is batshit.

Anyway, hopefully there will be evidence one way or another that cats cannot spread the virus, and then they can go back to merely shitting in my garden.

[wonderstuff]

If I've got a window or door open the cats go out. I can't see how I can keep them in without keeping all my doors and windows closed. I'm just going to hope my neighbours are sensible enough to not cause my cats harm. Crazy times.

[PinkSparklyPussyCat]

I suppose it's too much for the BBC to apologise for getting it wrong and inflaming the hard of thinking cat haters!

[Labracadabra]

The BVA were misquoted by the BBC

[Absoluteunit]

Whoops sorry that I seem to have opened a can of worms here!

Thanks everyone for your input. Perhaps for now I'll try to encourage him to not stray beyond the garden. He's happy sunbathing at the moment and not looking like he's ready to move any time soon

[FlamingoAndJohn]

But when on the litter tray section it is generally understood that you are either a cat owner or that you like cats.
Please don’t come onto a part of the site which is for cat owners or people who like cats and start saying anti cat stuff.

[BovaryX]

We are all allowed to discuss cats. If you can't handle that, I suggest it is you that buggers off

You have come to a part of this forum specifically for people with cats to sling insults around? You truly are a little sunbeam.

[Tonyaster]

We are all allowed to discuss cats. If you can't handle that, I suggest it is you that buggers off

[FlamingoAndJohn]

I don't hate cats and have had them as pets in the past. Don't be rude.

Don’t come and tell me how to live my life and make wild assumptions about my cat and expect me and other cat owners to sit there and take it.
That is rude.
I can be a lot ruder than ‘sod off.’

[TheMotherofAllDilemmas]

Nothing to add apart of saying that after 2 years, you are already an experienced cat owner

[Tonyaster]

The local cats that come into my garden don't kill songbirds but they do scare them off.

[PancakePattie]

Bloody hell, this is only going to cause a run on cat litter which is hard enough to source at the moment anyway

[Jaxhog]

I don't plan to keep mine in unless Gov says I should. Mine are both quite old so don't go out much anyway - mainly to poop.

[Grumpyoldpersonwithcats]

@Tonyaster

If you look at my post this morning I said.

If the Government mandates that my cats stay in I'll do it. If one vet says try (without any real evidence to say it's a problem) then I ignore the advice.

I suspect the vast majority of cat owners would concur with this.

[Grumpyoldpersonwithcats]

@frillyfarmer
I suspect the RSPB know more than you do. Below is a section from their website.

Despite the large numbers of birds killed by cats in gardens, there is no clear scientific evidence that such mortality is causing bird populations to decline. This may be surprising, but many millions of birds die naturally every year, mainly through starvation, disease or other forms of predation. There is evidence that cats tend to take weak or sickly birds

[Tonyaster]

I'm sure they will, when it's official advice good!

[PinkSparklyPussyCat]

That possibly ALL pet owners might have to rethink the way they do things over the next few weeks.

I'm sure they will, when it's official advice and not more scaremongering from the BBC.

[RestYourHead]

I won't be keeping my cats in. They thrive on having free rein in our large garden. They don't go far luckily, they just enjoy our company when we're out unless they're fast asleep which to be honest is most of the day anyway

[nettie434]

I agree that a simple message about not touching other people’s pets would work much better. The headline is what’s wrong. The scientists quoted in the article are more equivocal. I think I will complain too.

This article from a Cambridge scientist suggests that there are so many cats and so many cases of coronavirus in the world that if it really were a real risk it’s likely we would know by now:

www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/opinion-can-cats-really-get-or-pass-on-covid-19-as-a-report-from-belgium-suggests

in your position Absoluteunit, I think I’d just be careful about washing my hands before touching the cat after he has been outside. It’s all about relative risk and human to human transmission is the real risk, not cat to human and vice versa.

[Tonyaster]

Dear cat haters. This is the litter tray section. Please sod off

I don't hate cats and have had them as pets in the past. Don't be rude.

[BovaryX]

Dear cat haters. This is the litter tray section. Please sod off

Well said!